This invention relates generally to cleaning devices and more particularly to a new and novel cleaning center for use in cleaning the inside of a home and also for use outside of the home such as cleaning the inside of a motor vehicle or the like.
In the daily or weekly cleaning of a residence, the owner and/or helper will generally use a vacuum sweeping unit with attachment, such as brushes and the like along with a separate head attachment for sweeping floors, rugs and others. The separate head attachment may be powered or not according to the type of sweeping unit purchased. Along with the basic sweeping unit, the home owner or helper such as the other or other person will also use an assortment of bottled cleaning supplies such as upholstery cleaners, rug spotters, cleaning solutions, etc., many of which are extremely toxic and can be very dangerous to children in the event they would be accidentally ingested by the child.
Many parents often leave such dangerous chemical supplies stored in various cupboards around the house where they can be easily seen and handled by children. It would be very desirable if the cleaning supplies could be stored in one safe place that could be locked when not in use and also could be easily transported around the house. It would also be very advantageous if other supplies such as rags, cloths, vacuum cleaner attachments could also be stored in the same proximity as the cleaning supplies.
In the cleaning of a motor vehicle, a similar set of conditions usually occur. The homeowner or helper, such as the father or other person will generally use a different group of cleaning supplies such as auto cleaners, waxes, auto upholstery spotters, and the like, many of which are also very dangerous to a child if ingested. In addition, the person cleaning the motor vehicle would often use a vacuum sweeping unit also for sweeping the floor and seats of the motor vehicle. It would also be very desirable if the motor vehicle cleaning supplies could be stored in a safe place that could be locked when not used and also could be easily transported to the motor vehicle outside of the house. It would also be advantageous if the rags, cloths and the like used in cleaning the motor vehicles as well as the vacuum cleaner attachments could also be stored in the vicinity of the cleaning supplies.
Since the vacuum cleaning unit is used both for cleaning inside the home and/or also for cleaning inside the motor vehicle, it would be advantageous to be able to easily use the vacuum cleaning unit in both locations without having to purchase separate units. However the typical home vacuum cleaner is often large being primarily designed for use in the home while the typical auto vacuum cleaner is often very small and compact, being designed primarily for use in cleaning the inside of the motor vehicle. It would also be very desirable if a single compact vacuum cleaner could be designed to accomplish both cleaning situations.
While cleaning inside the home or outside at the motor vehicle, the person doing the cleaning often needs a step stool to reach in out-of-the-way places. This situation usually requires the use of a separate stepping device which then must also be carried to the appropriate location when needed. It would be desirable to have such a device with the cleaning supplies and the vacuum cleaner at all times should the need for a step stool occur.
It is known in the prior art to provide separate devices for carrying groups of objects from one location to another. For example, I. Rabinowitz U.S. Pat. No. 1,125,396, issued on Jan. 19, 1915 teaches a carrier for toilet items which are carried in separate strap pockets. Similarly, G. A. Arnett U.S. Pat. No. 2,525,633, issued on Oct. 10, 1950 teaches the use of a multi-compartment bottle carrier for soft drinks, milk or the like. A similar functioning multi-compartment carrier is taught in J. R. Vaccaro U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,749, issued on Nov. 9, 1971. Here a plurality of plumber's tools are transported in the tool carrier by a rigid upright handle.
It is also known to design carriers for use in transporting several similar devices stacked on top of each other. For example, E. J. Summersby U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,031, issued on July 24, 1979 teaches the use of a computer tape reel carrier for carrying and storing computer tape reels. The concept of storing various items in a multi-use container is taught in P. A. Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 2,885,714, issued on May 12, 1959. Here a vacuum cleaner is stored inside of a hassock which has wheels positioned on the bottom.
Another type of multi-use outer container is taught in T. Cardamone U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,728, issued on Apr. 1, 1980. This container stores several inner containers such as motor oil, engine flush and engine additives inside the container with a transparent film surrounding the structure to permit viewing of the internal contents.
Vacuum cleaners have also been designed and used to store the tools used with the cleaner as typified in G. R. Wolter U.S. Pat. No. 3,869,265, issued on Mar. 4, 1975. This design uses a front and top compartment to house the various tubes, cord reel, brushes and the like used with the vacuum. A handle is affixed to the top of the vacuum and wheels are used on the bottom for transporting the complete device.
Nestable multi-compartment containers are shown and taught in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,474, issued on Aug. 13, 1985 to M. Ng of Kowloon, Hong Kong. This container is collapsible with three separate sections which nest together for shipping and then are assembled into a multi-tier kitchen utensil which is coupled together.
The before described typical prior art devices, while satisfactory for the purpose intended, do not satisfy the needs presented of an interchangeable cleaning device for use in cleaning the inside of a home and also cleaning the motor vehicle outside using and storing different cleaning supplies which can be locked inside the cleaning device for safety purposes.